Hitchhiker
by BloomValor
Summary: Sasuke Uchiha never expected himself to be the type of person that would offer a hitchhiker a ride. But it turns out that this hitchhiker is someone Sasuke knows well. Very well. [SASUNARU]
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

It's a bitterly cold Thursday afternoon and the rain is coming down so quickly that my windscreen wipers are struggling to keep up. I squint through the waterfall running down the glass just to make sure I'm still heading the right way.

I'd give anything to be back in my apartment right now, with a hot cup of tea and a good book. But here I am, far away from home on a motorway which seems absolutely endless.

It's Itachi's fault I'm in this situation. My brother and I are both co-owners of a large chain of high-end Japanese restaurants. Itachi deals with the restaurants in the south of the country while I am in charge of the ones in the north. Unfortunately, Itachi made sure head office was easily accessible to him, leaving me to make the arduously long journeys down there whenever business meeting need attending. I tried to convince Itachi to just set up a video call but he simply lectured me about being one hundred and ten percent professional when dealing with clients and shareholders and then promptly hung up, leaving me no other choice but to attend the meeting in person.

I could make this so much easier on myself if I simply caught a flight down south but in all honestly, planes and I don't get on very well. So I drive.

Itachi often refers to me as The Grump and I guess I can't really deny that grumpy is definitely how I feel right now. It took me several hours to reach head office on Tuesday morning but it was a much nicer day then. Now, however, the incessant rain has put me in quite a bad mood and I feel as dull and dreary as the grey sky looks.

As I drive my eyes stray towards the left side of the road where I can see a person in the distance holding out their arm. I can't see the raised thumb but it's easy to conclude that it's a hitchhiker. Why else would someone be standing at the side of the road in this weather? Not by choice, certainly. As I drive closer towards the figure the sky suddenly flashes and a rumble of thunder erupts from above the clouds. My eyes lock back onto the hitchhiker (who from this distance I can now tell is male) to see him crouched down on the ground covering his face with his hands. I feel a twinge of familiarity coil in my stomach.

'_He did that too, whenever there was a storm_' I think to myself and I don't even know I've done it until I realise I have pulled up next to the hitchhiker. I roll the window down slightly as he approaches my car and looks at me in what I assume is hope. The lower half of his face is obscured by a thick black scarf and the rest of his features are in shadow thanks to the hood of his jacket being pulled far over his head. He could be anyone. He could be a murderer or a theif who is just using this hitchhiker scenario to claim a victim. But, for some reason, I know this guy isn't a threat and so I lean closer to the partially opened window and yell out "Get in!".

Despite the ferocious loudness of the rain he must have heard me as he's approaching the passenger door. He opens it swiftly and climbs in and I hear a faint "Thank you so much" as he shuts the door. It's at this moment in time that I realise I really haven't thought this through. I don't know what to say to the guy. I mean, what do you say to a complete stranger who has just gotten into your car? I ponder over this for a few seconds before I conclude that asking where he wants to go would probably be a good place to start. I turn towards the hitchhiker just in time to see the soaking wet jacket and scarf fly past my face and hit the back seats with what can only be described as a heavy slopping sound. What on earth does this guy think he's doing? My car!

"What the hell?! Do you have any idea how rude that is?! You can't just-" I turn to face the hitchhiker again and the rest of my words feel heavy on my tongue and proceed to die in my throat. I take in the wild blonde hair, the bright blue eyes and the whisker-like scars marring the tanned cheeks and it's unmistakable.

"...Sasuke?"

It's him. It's him and he's in my car and it's like someone has punched me in the gut with how laboured my breathing feels.

It's really him.

Naruto Uzumaki.

My ex-boyfriend.

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**A/N:** _Hello! Bloom here! I really hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this story! To be honest, I wish I could have made it a little longer but alas, my brain couldn't think of anything else to write at two in the morning! So I'll work on making the next chapter a little longer! But for now, if anyone would be willing to give this chapter a quick review then I'd be so grateful! My writing wil definitely improve if I'm told what I need to work on! Until next time!_

_~ Bloom_


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

The way Naruto looked at that moment could only be described as 'deer in the headlights'. His eyes were wide, his lips slightly parted and he gripped his small leather satchel so tightly that his knuckles were turning white.

I hadn't seen Naruto for at least four years. Our break up wasn't the smoothest and honestly, it wasn't something that I had wanted to do. I had loved Naruto, we were happy together but my life had taken an unexpected and tragic turn and before I knew it, I was leaving my past life behind, and Naruto with it.

"Do you want me to get out?"

Naruto had clearly taken my silence as me regretting picking him up. Honestly, things would be a lot easier if I hadn't have stopped and let this hitchhiker, this face from my past, get in my car. But I'm not heartless, and telling Naruto to go back out into that storm and hope another person would be kind enough to give him a ride, that would be an incredibly heartless thing to do.

I decided that, despite how awkward this situation was, Naruto was staying in this car. I would take him to where he wanted to go and then...then he would disappear from my life all over again.

"No, Naruto," I said softly "I made the choice to pick you up and I'm not changing it now, that would just be cruel. Now, where do you want to go?"

I watched as Naruto closed his eyes and sighed in relief. His grip on his bag loosened and he chuckled nervously as he scratched the back of his head.

"Well, I was meant to be at Iruka's place about..." Naruto's eyes flicked over to the digital clock on my dashboard and he bit his lip as he realised the time "...three hours ago. I'd caught a bus this morning but it broke down so we had to wait until it was fixed. I decided to call Iruka to let him know what was going on but the reception inside the bus itself was terrible so I got off. Next thing I knew the bus was fixed and was driving off with my luggage but without me. Iruka will be going out of his mind."

Naruto slumped in his seat, looking both worried and exhausted. Iruka is Naruto's legal guardian. Naruto's parents passed away in a fire when Naruto was only 10 and Iruka took him in when he himself was only 18. Iruka too was an orphan and had been living alone since he was 16. Naruto told me once that Iruka was the Uzumaki's next door neighbour and that he would often babysit him when his parents went out. It only seemed natural for the two to stick together and they forged a relationship that was stronger than that of any biological brothers. Somehow, Iruka managed to juggle taking care of what was (and still is, most likely) a boisterous little kid as well as studying for a degree in teaching. The last I saw of Iruka was the day before Naruto and I broke up. I'm pretty sure that he hates me for making Naruto so unhappy, and I wouldn't blame him. I hated myself for it too.

"But you called him didn't you?" I asked as I manoeuvred the car back onto the motorway and started driving again "So he should be aware of what's going on, right?" How could Iruka not know what had happened if Naruto had been talking to him at the exact moment that the bus drove away?

Naruto chuckled awkwardly again and dug through his satchel. He pulled out his phone and pressed a couple of buttons as he showed me the blank screen.

"My battery died as I was talking to him so that, plus the fact that the call itself was distorted due to the bad reception means he has no idea what's going on right now" Naruto sighed "Today really isn't my lucky day..." I heard him mumble.

I nodded in agreement. No wonder he's exhausted. Without taking my eyes off the road, I slipped my hand into my trouser pocket and pulled out my phone. "Here," I tossed the phone over to Naruto who caught it in both hands "Call him back."

Naruto gave me a small grin before typing in Iruka's phone number. He mouthed a quick "Thanks" to me as he waited for his call to be answered. When Iruka picked up he must have sounded panicked because Naruto cringed slightly as he responded.

"Hi Iruka...it's me."

Despite the phone not being put on loudspeaker I could hear almost every word Iruka was saying, or to describe it more accurately, screaming. Something along the lines of "Naruto! Where the hell are you?! I have been worried sick! Are you okay? Who are you with? You better show your face soon or you'll be sorry!"

"Iruka! Iruka, please! Relax! I'm fine, don't worry!" Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Naruto waving his free hand in the air as if hoping Iruka would sense it and calm down. "I'm on my way now, I'm with Sasuke."

If Iruka wasn't screaming already, he was now. Naruto had pulled the phone away from his ear, Iruka was so loud.

"What are you doing with HIM?! I didn't even know you two were still in contact! Oh my God! Has he kidnapped you, Naruto?! Put him on the phone, I will not let him get away with this, who does he think he is-"

Naruto and I looked at each other in confusion as we heard a small crash from the other end of the phone then everything went quiet. Naruto swiftly put the phone on loudspeaker hoping to figure out what had happened to his fiery guardian when all of a sudden a calm voice spoke up.

"Hey kid, it's Kakashi. Iruka was getting all red and veiny again so I had to put him to sleep."

I saw Naruto roll his eyes. "You hit him over the head with another of his expensive vases, didn't you?"

"You gotta do what you gotta do. He would have passed out on his own soon enough anyway considering he was more focused on screaming than breathing. So what's going on?"

I stopped listening as Naruto told this Kakashi guy about his situation. I knew Iruka was mad at me and considering I have to drop Naruto off at his house when he's under the impression that I kidnapped his precious adoptive brother, I better prepare myself for a beating.

"Okay, well I'd better be going now, Kakashi." I heard Naruto say, "I promise I'll keep you updated. Tell Iruka I love him and that I'm really sorry for worrying him. Yeah...yeah...okay. See you later."

Naruto ended the call and handed my phone back to me. I slipped it back into my pocket.

"So," I inquired, "Who's Kakashi?"

"Iruka's boyfriend" Naruto smiled "They've been together for three years now. He's a perfect match for Iruka, just what he needs to combat his fiery temper. Even if his methods for doing so may seem a little...extreme."

I found myself chuckling. Even when Naruto and I were together, Iruka still blew up every now and then. I'm kind of glad that he has someone to calm him down. It'll certainly be easier to drop Naruto off and leave unscathed if Iruka is unconscious.

Naruto's own laughter turned into a loud yawn. I glanced at him, noticing how tired he looked.

"Why don't you get some rest Naruto, I'll wake you up in a couple of hours and we'll stop off to get some food. I assume you're hungry."

"Starving." Naruto grinned but his eyelids were already drooping. He turned to the side and curled up in his seat the best he could, trying to find a comfortable position. I couldn't help but steal a few quick glances at him. He looks so much younger when he's asleep that you would never guess he was almost 23. I can't help but think back to us at the beginning of our relationship, two 15 year olds, one quiet and unsociable, the other loud and bouncy, a huge ball of sunshine. We were good together. He brought me out of my shell and got me talking to people. When we broke up, I seemed to revert back to my old ways. I was back to being moody, sarcastic and would only talk to people when necessary.

But right now, here in my car with Naruto snoring softly in the passenger seat, I find myself thinking that I wish things could go back to how they were before.

I grip the steering wheel hard and try to push those thoughts away.

_'You can't go back to how it was before_' my mind tells me '_Not after what you did to him_.'

"I know." I whisper to myself as my heart clenches painfully in my chest "I know."

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**A/N:** _Here's the second chapter, dear readers! I managed to make this one a bit longer than the first so I'm really pleased about that! _

_So what did you think of the way the story is progressing? And did anyone like the inclusion of Kakashi and Iruka? I just had to include them, I love them together! _

_Now the major question that has been raised in this chapter is about the break up! How exactly did Sasuke break up with Naruto and why does he feel so bad about it? This will be explored in the next chapter so get ready for a few things to be revealed!_

_Please review! I only got one review for the first chapter but thank you_ **Guest**_ (whoever you are!), I'm glad you enjoyed the first portion of the story! So yes, reviews are gratefully appreciated! _

_Until next time!_

_~ Bloom_

**P.S:** _My browser keeps trying to auto-correct Sasuke to Sapsucker. I find this highly amusing._**_  
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